CME calls for priority vaccination of manufacturing workers in Ontario

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) has released a statement saying it expresses deep concern over the recent spikes of COVID-19 cases across Canada, particularly in Ontario.

The statement is as follows:

“CME is urging the Government of Ontario to prioritize the vaccination of essential workers so that the sector can continue to keep workplaces open and safe for essential manufacturing workers.

CME is offering support to leverage the capabilities of the manufacturing sector to speed the vaccination rollout, including using industrial sites and resources to deliver vaccines to their workforce and the broader local communities.

As of right now, manufacturing workers have been told that the earliest potential inoculation is still months away in June. Meanwhile, our American counterparts have largely completed vaccinating their employees at this stage. The Ontario government must prioritize essential production workers and ensure speedy access to vaccines right after our frontline workers and seniors.

‘As a sector that employs over 750,000 essential workers in the manufacturing sector that continue to go to work every day – we must ensure that Ontario uses every resource available to them to increase vaccination rollout,’ says Dennis Darby, president and CEO of CME.

‘While our sector has retooled entire operations to make essential PPE and other goods necessary for their protection, access to vaccines is imperative for these workers to be adequately protected day in and day out.’

CME is calling on the Ontario government to help industry play its part in the fight against COVID-19 by allowing manufacturers to continue to safely operate by immediately expanding the availability of rapid testing programs to all manufacturers.

Darby sits on the Industry Advisory Roundtable on COVID-19 Testing, Screening, Tracing and Data Management, which recently released a report on the importance of task shifting to enable the use of rapid tests to screen for COVID-19 in workplace settings.

As local chief medical officers and other infectious disease experts call on the Ontario government to increase its shutdown restrictions, CME is ready to do its part to keep essential operations open by vaccinating their employees and keeping the community safe.”